Samsung offers refunds on PCs using flawed Intel chips

Samsung Electronics Co. announced on Tuesday that refunds will be offered to customers who bought Samsung PCs that have Intel's flawed chipset inside.

Intel announced on Tuesday that some of its Cougar Point chipsets had been found to have a bad design flaw that required a silicon fix. The chipmaker halted production of the defective chips and started production on new fixed units instead.

The affected chipsets are used in systems that feature Intel's Second Generation Core microprocessors, like some sold by Samsung. "There are six PC line-ups released in Korea and one in the U.S., and we plan to fully refund or exchange the product in question,"James Chung, Samsung's spokesman said.

"No financial impact on our business is likely as the total payment will be funded by Intel." The design flaw is expected to cost Intel over $1 billion in repairs and lost revenue, as well as delay the release of more computers using its Sandy Bridge microprocessors.